


the weather outside is frightful

by Ganymeme



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003), Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Alchemy still exists, Alternate Universe - Pokemon Fusion, Gen, Yule
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:35:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21961471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ganymeme/pseuds/Ganymeme
Summary: Trisha Elric lives in a big old house on a hill outside of Risembool, where she and her Ampharos can keep an eye on the village flocks... but she's also the one people call when someone gets lost and needs found, holidays or not. (FMA x Pokemon AU, holiday gift for a friend!)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Artdirector123](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Artdirector123/gifts).



> More AUs! This is for a holiday gift exchange I did with @Artdirector123, based off of one of our Pokemon/FMA AUs. Hope you enjoy it luv!!! Part 2 should be up in the next day or two. :)

Yule that year had a rough start. The sky was still dark, the stars glittering and cold, when a pounding on her front door woke Trisha. At first, laying in bed wrapped up in her blankets staring out the window at the stars, she thought maybe she had dreamed it. But then the pounding came again and she scrambled out of bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. There was only one reason anyone would be knocking on her front door at an hour well before dawn.

“Luma,” she hissed at the softly snoring lump of yellow fur curled up in the wicker-and-cushion pokémon bed beneath the window, “Luma get up.”

With a snort, the Ampharos jerked her head up, blinking blearily as the red gem on her forehead flickered with unsteady light. Little yellow sparks danced over her rumpled fur and Trisha stifled a giggle. If the boys, sleeping just across the hall, hadn’t woken up to the banging on the door she certainly didn’t want to wake them now.

As if whoever was at the door had heard her thoughts, another a loud _bang-bang-bang_ echoed through the quiet old house. Trisha winced and Luma frowned, the gem on her forehead settling into a steady, low glow. 

“Go see who’s at the door,” Trisha ordered quietly, “and keep the light down, I don’t want the boys to wake.”

Luma looked doubtful at that, as if she couldn’t quite believe they hadn’t already woken up. A bit rich, Trisha thought, coming from the pokémon who hadn’t stirred until Trisha called her name. But Luma uncurled to her full 4 feet of height and, with a crackling, sparking yawn, shambled out of the room and down the hall.

This left Trisha to get dressed in the cold dark. Long woolen underwear first, a bulky sweater overtop of her night dress, then old dungarees that the dress got shoved into, bunching around her hips. She glanced outside and shivered at the sight of the crisp and shining snow. Two pairs of socks later Trisha padded quietly out of her bedroom, hairpins held in her lips as she tied her hair up. 

Outside the boys’ door she paused, considering if she wanted to check in on them or not. Edward would take great offense if he caught her, of course, being _far too old_ for her to fuss over him like that, according to him. But he was also the heavier sleeper… and though Alphonse was only a year younger, he did not yet protest any motherly watchfulness.

Her mind made up, Trisha shoved the hairpins into her hasty bun and quietly eased the bedroom door open. She leaned in just far enough to get a look at them: Edward, sprawled out on his back, and Alphonse, curled up on his side beside him. Both, thank the spirits, still soundly asleep. Trisha smiled softly, heart warming at the sight of them. The mummer visits lasting so late last night must have worn them out.

A snuffle and curious, quiet ‘whuff’ drew her attention to the foot of the bed, where Milly, the Yamper, slept. Or had been sleeping—the little pokémon was now wide awake, watching Trisha with his ears perked up. Trisha shook her head. 

“You stay here, Mill,” she whispered, “Watch the boys. Hopefully I won’t be out too long.”

Another soft ‘whuff’ of agreement and Milly laid his head back down on his paws, stumpy tail wiggling gently.

That settled, and reassured that her boys were sleeping soundly, Trisha drew back and shut the door with a quiet click.

She found Ruben Larkin waiting in the kitchen, hat in his hands, looking as if he still hadn’t gotten any sleep. He’d been one of the mummers going around last night, she knew, and there was still a smudge of paint on his cheek. He did, at least, appear sober.

He greeted her with a weary, relieved smile. “Trisha! Happy Yule. Sorry to wake you like this.”

Trisha waved off his apology and dropped down to sit on the bench by the door and begin lacing up her boots.

“What’s the problem? If its Auntie Maud’s Wooloo again…”

Ruben laughed at that and ran a hand over his salt-and-pepper hair. But then he shook his head, sobering swiftly.

“No, I wish it was. It’s Darrik’s boy, and the girl he’s been running around with. Went off for a bit of fun after mumming, out across the river, and ain’t returned yet. And there’s a storm brewing over the hills, like to blow in any hour now.”

Trisha looked up sharply, and Ruben grimaced when she met his eyes. “Darrik’s fit to be tied,” he said, “and Janney—the girl’s mum—isn’t much better.”

Trisha shuddered. She could just imagine how horrible it would be waiting up for your child to return and nothing and no one coming back. It had been months now since the last reports of skirmishes or rebels from Ishval making their way up here, but that fear was still on all their minds. Not to mention it being Yule season, too, with the long dark nights and dangerous ghosts wandering about, and then this unusually cold and snowy weather…

Trisha stood up, stamped her feet, and bundled on Van’s big old coat, a flat cap, scarf, and gloves. Luma, now looking much more neatly groomed, waited by the door. Trisha wrapped a second scarf around the Ampharos’ neck.

“We’ll find them, Ruby,” she said firmly, “Just leave it to us.”

Ruben made a face at the old nickname and hurried to open the door for her. Trisha rolled her eyes; he’d never been nearly as polite when they were kids.

“Wish you wouldn’t call me that,” he grumbled as she stumped past him and out into the snow.

“I know,” she said cheerfully. She made sure the door latched, as Luma shuffled unhappily in the snow. Turning, she surveyed the rolling hills and bare orchards of Risembool stretching out before them.

“A bit more light, Luma, please,” she said. The tip of the Ampharos’ tail began to glow softly, casting a wide radius of light around them. Cold air nipped at her cheeks and nose and Trisha settled her cap more firmly on her head.

“Now,” she said, “Across the river, was it? Best go get our skis first, Lume. Are you coming, Ruben?”

~

Ed woke up to Alphonse poking him, sharp little jabs digging into his ribs.

“Bruvver,” Al was saying, “Bruvver, bruvver, c’mon wake up!”

Ed groaned and threw his arm over his eyes. “Go pee by yourself, Al,” he mumbled. It was cold and still dark, which meant Mom hadn’t started the fire yet. He didn’t want to get out of bed until then.

Al huffed with irritation. “ _Bruvver_ ,” he insisted, “It’s _Yule_! We hafta get Mom’s gift!”

Ed had been all ready to shove Al away and tell him to stop being a baby who needed someone holding his hand down the hallway. But when he heard that, his eyes flew open and Ed stared up at the ceiling in horror. Oh _no_. It _was_ Yule, and they hadn’t been able to finish yesterday!

“Move, Al! C’mon, what’re you waiting for?”

Jostling his brother aside, Ed yanked his legs out of the tangled bedsheets and scrambled out of the bed. The cold house suddenly seemed much more like a promise than a threat: a chance to get out and back before Mom was awake, so he and Al could surprise her with their gift _properly_. Al yelped and fell sideways, nearly squishing Milly who woke up with a startled bark. 

“Bruvv—!”

“Shhhh,” Ed hissed, ignoring Al’s whine. “Don’t wake her up! C’mon, put your sweater on, we gotta get over there!”

Ed, of course, ended up having to help Alphonse pull on his sweater and turn his socks the right way out. It was silly, he thought, that Al couldn’t manage this by himself yet, but Mom kept telling him to be patient, and that it wasn’t that long ago that Ed had needed help, too. (Ed wasn’t sure he believed her. It seemed like a _really_ long time to him.)

Finally, both of them bundled up with warm sweaters over top of their flannel pajamas, they crept up to their door and eased it open. Behind them, Milly gave a sharp bark and after some scuffling landed on the floor with a thump.

“Shhhh, Milly,” Ed hissed, “Don’t wake Mom!”

The hallway was dark. But a weird watery grey kind of dark. Across the hall, Mom’s door was open but, though Ed strained his ears, he couldn’t hear the usual sounds of her moving around in the kitchen. And it was still cold, too, it sure didn’t feel or sound like the Carkol had been by yet with the coal for the fire.

“Is Mom… in there?” Al whispered, clutching nervously at Ed’s sweater.

“Don’t think so,” he whispered back. “Hey, Milly!”

The Yamper, hovering at their heels, grumbled lowly.

“Find Luma?”

The dog pokémon just looked grumpily at Ed, ears flat. Then he shook his head. Ed giggled. Mom always said pokémon were really smart, smarter than normal animals, but Ed didn’t really believe her. Maybe? He wasn’t sure, and Milly did usually run and find Luma in an instant if she was home.

“She’s prolly gone to find a Wooloo or something, Al, c’mon!”

Ed headed down the hall, trying to march along, but Al still clung to his sweater and slowed him down. After a brief scuffle—that Ed won, of _course_ , ‘cause he was the big brother—Al finally let go and they made it down the hall to the kitchen.

Here, for the first time, they could see out the windows. The world outside was a grey-white blur, wind blowing heavy snow nearly sideways. Ed stopped in his tracks, staring. _Oh no_. How would they make it up to the shed at Winry’s house in _that_? Mom always told them, _never go out in a storm_. (Which was weird, because _she_ went out into storms all the time, looking for missing people and pokémon.)

“Bruvver?” Al sounded nervous. “That’s— that’s a lot of snow.”

Ed puffed up his chest. “We can still do it, Al,” he said, trying to sound big and brave. It wasn’t like they needed to go _far_. Al was still looking up at him, face scrunched up with worry.

Ed scoffed. “Don’t be a scaredy-cat, c’mon! We’ll, um, we’ll put all our boots ‘n coats ‘n things on, really good. And… and…”

The empty grate of the fireplace caught his attention. No coal yet meant no Carkol yet.

“And we’ll wait for Carkol ‘n follow him back up to the shed!” Carkol lived at Winry’s house, after all, and always went back there after bringing them their coal.

Al was still staring at Ed, his bottom lip stuck out in a pout and face scrunched up in his thinking-frown. Ed crossed his arms and huffed. “It’ll be _easy_ ,” he insisted, but Al still looked doubtful. It was the sort of face that Ed knew came before Al running off to Mom—when she was home.

Well, Ed wasn’t going to let Al being a scaredy-cat stop them from getting Mom’s present. He felt a little bad even before saying it, because he’d gotten in big trouble the last time Mom had caught him calling Al names, but…

“You’re not a _baby_ are you?” Ed jeered. Al’s chubby cheeks turned bright pink.

“Am not!” Al yelled, “ _You’re_ a baby! I’ll beat you there!”

With that, Al stomped off towards the door and the boot rack, leaving Ed to trail smugly behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _**Pokedex #181** : Ampharos, the Light Pokémon. Ampharos emits a strong light from the tip of its tail, which can be seen over long distances and serve as a beacon to those who are lost._
> 
> ~
> 
> Check out Straw's art about this AU here: [Tumblr Link](https://strawbebehmod.tumblr.com/post/185827389649/little-something-for-a-pokemon-au-discussed-with-a) and if you like Pokemon and Piers/Raihan, keep an eye here for a link to the super cute art she drew me, once she posts it up publicly. :D


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trisha comes home... to an empty house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You'll notice this is now 3 chapters. I am terrible at predicting length, and this ended up getting a bit longer than expected. XD I thought about waiting, but heck, here we are. More Trisha! No Elric babies in this chapter v_v

Trisha’s face and hands were numb and her legs burned with a deep, dull ache. Skiing back up the hill to the house, fighting the wind and snow with every stride, was the hardest thing she had done that day, including driving off the wild Snovers surrounding the missing kids. She was panting for breath by the time she made it back to the garden shed, too hot in all her layers. Just a few minutes more, Trisha thought, and she could finally take it all off. 

It took her several tries to get the skiis off, her snow-encrusted gloves fumbling with the buckles and straps. Luma hovered in the doorway, the bright light from her forehead and tail casting strange shadows on the shed walls. Her soft chirps of concern were barely audible over the storm battering the shed. Finally, Trisha freed herself from the skiis and staggered out the door, legs wobbling. 

“C’mon Lume,” she said, squinting at the house through the snow. Odd, she would have thought the boys would be up by now, with lights on but the house looked dark. Trisha wrapped an arm around Luma and began trudging through the knee-deep drifts up to the house.

Her tired observation turned to worry, though, the closer she got. When Trisha reached the front door and realized it wasn’t fully latched, that worry spiked, punching through her exhaustion. Fear clutched at her heart, and Trisha shoved the door open, stumbling inside with jelly-like knees.

“Edward? Alphonse?” she called, trying to keep her voice calm. Maybe they were hiding, in their bedroom or the study upstairs. Maybe—

A soft whine drew her attention. Milly the Yamper was huddled by the boot rack, his ears drooping and hunched down like he knew he was in trouble. Trisha stared at him blankly, her mind racing in circles, for a solid ten seconds before she realized what she was looking at.

The boys’ boots were gone. 

A flash of anger swept over her. Why hadn’t Milly stopped them? Why hadn’t Milly _followed_ them? But then Luma lumbered in, stamping snow off her feet and nudging the door shut, and Trisha’s common sense reasserted itself. Of course Milly hadn’t followed; the snow was up to the poor thing’s nose. And Trisha knew better than anyone how headstrong her boys got.

She took one shaky breath, and then another, fighting back the panic. Okay. Her boys were out in the storm. They were surely together, inseparable as they were, and they couldn’t have gone far, being so small. (Spirits. They were _so small_. And this storm was so bad, worse than any Trisha had seen in years, and it was cold and— No. No, she could not let herself panic. They were fine. They had to be fine.)

“Okay,” she said nervously, her voice shrill in the silence. “Okay, we can find them. That’s what we do, Lume, we find people. And Wooloo. And Mareep. But mostly Wooloo. But people too. We—” her voice wobbled and cracked.

Biting her lip and telling herself fiercely that she was _not_ going to cry, Trisha stopped rambling and stepped from the porch into the kitchen, looking for anything that might hint at where they had gone. Last night’s dishes untouched in the sink, chairs still pushed in at the table, no lamps lit… a scuttle full of coal. The first tiny spark of hope bloomed in her chest. Wago, the Rockbell’s Carkol, had been here.

“Okay,” she said again, mostly to fill the quiet. Behind her, she heard Luma shuffle restlessly, the soft snap of static dancing over her fur. The boys had gone to the Rockbell’s, following Wago back as they often did. That had to be it. If that wasn’t it—

Trisha didn’t even want to entertain the idea. 

“Milly!” she called, striding over to the high shelf in the porch where she kept things she didn’t want the boys playing with. Tools, mostly, but also the one pokeball she owned. That was what she grabbed, fumbling with it awkwardly. She searched slowly for the button that activated it. Finally, her still numb fingertips found the tiny button on the ball’s brass surface. Hold the button in, point the little lens on the front of the ball at Milly and… she really had no idea how professional trainers could use these things so swiftly and easily. Or her boys, for that matter.

With an almost alchemical crackle, blue light flared inside the ball and shot out in a ray, engulfing the Yamper. Milly’s silhouette flashed blue-black and then, just like that, was gone. The ball sparked slightly, harmless blue sparks dancing over its metal surface for a few seconds, and the glass lens on the front glowed with a very soft blue light. Trisha eyed it warily. She’d been using the ball for a few years now and she still wasn’t sure she trusted it entirely.

Carefully, she tucked it away in the inner pocket of her coat. Carrying a metal ball the size of a large orange wasn’t exactly comfortable, but she wasn’t leaving Milly alone in the house. Trisha buttoned her coat back up and resettled her hat, scarf, and gloves. She headed back out to the shed and the skis she had just taken off.

The storm was even worse than before, the falling snow whipping this way and that in the bitterly cold gusts of wind, small flakes stinging her bare cheeks. Trisha couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of her, the rest of the world a grey-white blur. It was a good thing, she thought grimly, that she could probably find her way to the Rockbell’s blindfolded if she had to.

Luckily she didn’t have to. With a bit of searching by the steps, she found the tire tracks left by Carkol. The two grooves were filling in with fresh snow, but still just distinct enough for her to follow. And, thank the spirits, she thought she could even see tiny boot prints here and there alongside.

She carefully side-stepped into the grooves with her skis, settled her grip firmly on the poles, and headed out. Luma followed behind, grumbling quietly, the sounds almost lost in the storm.

Twice, Trisha lost the tracks. The second time, it took several minutes of hunting, her heart in her throat, to pick them up again. When she found them, she hesitated. Though it was possible she’d gotten turned around, Trisha could have sworn that this was headed not towards the Rockbell’s but away. Why would Wago have deviated from his path? Where was he taking her boys?

Swallowing nervously, palms slick with sweat inside her gloves, Trisha stood for a moment, fighting back panic. They would be okay. They had to be. It was cold, bitterly so, and felt like it was growing colder by the minute, but if they were with a Carkol they were warm, surely.

Something large and soft bumped into her back and Trisha yelped, nearly jumping out of her skin.

“ _Phaaa_ ,” came the low moan, and a familiar head butted at her arm. Luma, grumbling unhappily.

“I know, girl, I know,” Trisha murmured. She set her jaw. Forward it was.

Several minutes later, Trisha was certain that the storm was worsening. The cold was deeper, more biting, dropping faster than she had thought was possible. The falling snow was swiftly becoming denser, heavier, thicker. Her world had narrowed to the poles clutched in her hands, the slow slide of her skis over snow, and the howling, whirling vortex around her, a white-grey haze. Only the thought of her boys being out here, scared and cold, kept her going. She had to find them, she _had_ to.

Luma was nearly glued to her side. It made skiing difficult, but Trisha didn’t want to lose her partner in the storm either. She could feel her shivering violently, could just barely hear the telltale crackle of Luma sparking, trying desperately to keep herself warm.

Then, out of the snow and the wind, a massive shape loomed. Trisha halted, squinting. Something tall, broad, and bulky. Well over two meters high, and nearly as wide. She could just make out the silhouette, a darker shadow through the snow. Something about its shape, what she could see of it, struck her as familiar, but she could not quite place it.

“ _Oooooow!_ ”

A deep, sharp groan split the air, cutting through the howl of the wind. Eerie and endless, it echoed through the snow, sending fear cold as ice crawling down her spine and sinking into her bones. It rose and fell, surging like a river, and when it finally faded, it seemed to have taken her breath with it.

Trisha froze in place, staring forward. She had never heard anything like that before in her life, and it had come from the massive _thing_ in front of her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A snowstorm, a battle, and a gift!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for reading! And happy holidays again to Straw <333 I hope you all enjoyed this little crossover, and have a great 2020!

Ed huddled closer to Carkol, clutching tightly to the back of Al’s coat. Al whimpered and when Ed looked at him he had squeezed his eyes shut as he pushed himself as close against the pokémon’s rocky back wheels as possible. Somewhere, out in the horrible, freezing snow and wind, the huge monster bellowed again. 

“ _Ooooooow!_ ”

Ed couldn’t breathe. Part of him wanted to look and part of him wanted to hide, more, better, but he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t even _move_. Wago’s answering growl rumbled like falling rocks. Against his side, he felt the rocky body grow warmer.

“Go _away_ ,” he whispered at the unseen monster, “Go away, go away, _go away_.”

Al, curled up into a ball, sniffled. Ed scowled. _Ugh_ , he hated this! Al was scared and sad, and Ed wasn’t doing _anything_. Some big brother he was. He needed… he needed to do _something_. He needed to see, at least and maybe… Wago wasn’t trained to fight like the pokémon on the radio, but surely he could do something. Like Ember! Wago was a Fire-type, so he must know Ember, right?

Ed’s palms were clammy and sticky inside his mitts and the half of his face that wasn’t next to Carkol felt numb and cold. But he’d made up his mind. Or he thought he had, freezing in place as another horrible, deep howl from the monster in the snow split the air.

Was it… further away? Ed couldn’t tell. He really, really hoped so, though. Al sniffled again, eyes cracking open to squint miserably at Ed.

“Bruvver?” he whispered.

Ed had to do something. Anything. He stood up, clutching at Wago for balance, and tugged at Al’s coat.

“Hold on to Wago, Al,” he said, bracing himself for Al to argue. But Al just sniffed and nodded, awkwardly pushing himself up and fumbling for the edge of Wago’s cart. Something sick and hot twisted in Ed’s stomach at that. Al never just _listened_ to him. He really needed to do something now.

Ed took a deep, shaky breath, and hauled himself up onto Wago’s half-empty coal pile. He slipped twice, the rock slippery under his boots, the wind pulling at his clothes, but after a short struggle, he made it. The lumps of coal rolled beneath him, digging into his stomach and elbows as he crawled forward, putting his head near Wago’s. It was warm, at least, so warm it almost hurt.

Huffing for breath, Ed stopped moving and squinted through the blowing snow. Where was it? The monster had been just in front of Wago when they’d stopped moving.

Then three things happened very quickly, so quickly that Ed could barely follow it. The monster bellowed again, short and loud and _way too close_ , a burst of wind blew away all of the falling snow in a wide swath in front of them, and, in that moment, a bright beam of red light shot out from a very familiar figure to strike the monster.

Ed’s eyes widened and his heart began racing. The monster, as big as a tree and as wide as two, bellowed again, but Ed only had eyes for Luma and the human-shaped figure beside her.

“Mom!” he yelled, but the monster’s pained cry drowned out his words.

Beneath him, Wago rumbled and Ed felt the coal digging into his stomach begin to grow hot. Very hot. Before he could move, though, Wago tilted his head back and breathed out a column of flame in the direction of the monster. Beneath Ed, the coal cooled even faster than it had heated up, until Wago shut his mouth with a sharp clack.

Ed’s jaw dropped. Alright, that wasn’t Ember. He’d seen Rolly’s Torchic use Ember before and it wasn’t nearly _that_ cool.

“ _Crap_ ,” he breathed, then shot a guilty look through the snow to where he had seen Mom.

Another gust of strong, cold wind cleared the snow away again. Mom still stood behind Luma, pointing dramatically towards the monster. The gem on her forehead was glowing brighter and brighter and brighter--so bright that Ed couldn’t stand to look at it and he looked away, risking a look at the monster.

Wide and tall, green and white, obviously a pokémon but not one that Ed had ever seen before. Before he could get a good look at it, though, another ray of red light struck it, square in what looked like its face. The pokémon staggered back a step and Ed gasped. Luma was _that_ strong?

It moaned again, as the snow and wind picked back up, turning it into a blurry hulking shape once more. But this wasn’t the terrifying bellows of earlier. 

“Did we get it, Wago?” Ed whispered, clutching tight to the front of Wago’s cart. The Carkol rumbled, sounding grumpy. But he always sounded grumpy. Through the snow, Ed could see a red glow growing brighter and brighter on Luma’s forehead. The strange pokémon must have been able to see it too because it gave another pained moaned and, slowly, turned and began shambling away. 

At first it was just a great hulking shape growing slowly smaller and smaller, but then the wind and snow began to quiet. Ed watched it retreat with wide eyes, hardly daring to breathe. Was it really gone? Was it really over? The strange pokémon disappeared into the distance and the howling wind that had been battering them since they left their house died down to almost nothing.

Something touched his boot and Ed squeaked, flinching, before he remembered that Al was behind him. Face flushing hot, Ed rolled off of Wago’s back, ready to defend himself from any teasing from Al. But none came. Al just stared at him, eyes watery.

Ed grinned and planted his hands on hips. He had to look big and strong, so Al wouldn’t get scared. “It’s gone, Al! Mom ‘n Luma scared it off!”

Al blinked at him, then whispered nervously, “Mama?”

Ed nodded, and jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. “Yeah! She’s over there!”

Al released his grip on Wago’s back and staggered through the snow towards Ed. Big, fat flakes of snow were drifting down now, slow and soft. Beside them, Wago grumbled and began awkwardly turning, rolling back and forward and back and forward.

Ed caught Al’s hand as his brother reached him and turned around, searching through the gently falling snow for the familiar shapes. There she was, ski poles in her hands and hood thrown back, looking around like she hadn’t spotted them yet.

“Mom!” Ed yelled, jumping up and down in the snow, waving his one free hand. “Mom, over here!”

“Here!” Al echoed, also waving. “Mama!”

At that, Mom finally looked their way. She was too far away for Ed to really see her face, but she lurched into motion, Luma following close behind.

“Edward! Alphonse! Stay right there!” she called. She didn’t _sound_ mad, but for the first time since leaving the house that morning, Ed suddenly worried that maybe she would be.

But when she reached them, hurriedly unbuckling herself from the skis, she just fell down to her knees in the snow and wrapped them both in a big, squishy, kind of cold and snowy, hug.

“Oh _boys_ ,” she said, voice muffled by Al’s hair. “I’m so glad you’re alright. You’re both alright, aren’t you?”

Despite the snow clinging to her coat, Ed buried himself into her shoulder as far as he could. He nodded his head, and could feel Al doing the same.

“ ‘m fine,” he said.

“I’m _cold_ ,” Al said.

Mom laughed and ruffled their hair before planting kisses on top of their heads. Ed scowled a little, because he kept telling her not to do that, he was _grown_ , now, but he didn’t protest because it did feel… nice. Mom stood up, with a heavy sigh and bent down to pick up her skis.

“Wago,” she said to the now finally turned around Carkol, “Be a dear and take us to the Rockbell’s would you?”

Ed looked over at Al, grinning and then looked away when their eyes met and Al was also smiling. Mom wasn’t taking them home! They’d still be able to get her Yule gift after all.

~

Pinako had opened the door to Trisha’s knocking with a sharp look and grumbled, “Took you long enough! Get in here.”

That had seemed a bit odd, even for her, but Trisha hadn’t argued. She was _freezing_ , and though the boys were putting on strong faces, they were shivering and pink-cheeked and Alphonse had been sniffling the whole walk up the hill. She and Pinako helped them out of their snow clothes--including the three scarves and two hats that Alphonse had somehow been bundled in. Trisha had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at that, Edward must have taken charge of dressing them both.

Alphonse had been eager enough to get inside and up to the fire roaring in Pinako’s hearth, but Edward had balked. Trisha had groaned internally, expecting a fit of contrary stubbornness from her eldest.

“Granny--!” he’d protested, as Pinako began unwinding the scarf from his neck.

“Quiet, you,” she’d said gruffly, “Nothing you need’s out there.”

That strange sentence had, mysteriously, quieted Edward. Trisha shook her head, bemused, and freed Alphonse from the final scarf, wound clumsily around his torso. He beamed at her, wriggled free of her grasp, and raced past her into the Rockbell’s kitchen. Edward followed shortly after. With a heavy sigh, Trisha dropped into a chair to start-- _finally_ \--unlacing her own boots.

From the room beyond, little Winry’s voice joined her boys’ in an excited outburst of chattering. Trisha smiled wearily, but then the sounds of the children were cut off by Pinako shutting the door with a sharp click. Trisha looked up.

“You alright, girl?” the old woman asked, in her gruff way.

Trisha smiled. “I’m fine. Just tired. Darrik and Janney’s kids got themselves lost last night, I’ve been up since before dawn.”

“Hmmm.” Pinako never looked like she believed her, which Trisha supposed _was_ the inevitable result of all the trouble she and Urey had gotten up to as kids.

Pinako didn’t accuse her of anything, though, just jabbed her pipe towards the window and said, “Storm like that’s not natural. Haven’t seen anything like it in a good forty years, give or take.”

Trisha pried her second boot off and sat back with a groan. Spirits, she was going to be stiff tomorrow. She fished Milly’s pokeball out of her coat and, with a bit of fumbling, released the Yamper in a flash of blue light. Milly barked happily and spun in circles until he bumped into Luma’s feet. Luma, who had been slowly dripping dry on the porch floor, crackled affectionately and chattered something at him in that strange almost-words-but-not-really way pokémon had.

“Well?” Pinako demanded, not even glancing at the pokémons’ antics. Trisha grimaced. She had hoped, faintly, that she’d be able to get away without an interrogation, but she really should have known better.

“An Abomasnow,” she said, “Just south of your garden. Chasing after its Snovers, I suppose. If I hadn’t been looking for the boys--”

If she hadn’t been sick with worry and fear, her boys her first priority, Trisha would have tried to lead the Abomasnow down towards where she had driven the Snovers off to. ‘Try’ was certainly the word. She’d heard of Abomasnows, of course, and that they were rumoured to live in the northern forests. Her studies to know what sorts of pokémon might wander in lost or threaten the flocks had shown her images of them, but it had been… much larger, and much angrier, in person than she’d imagined. And for one to be this far south... it was unsettling, to say the least.

Pinako stiffened. “ _Looking_ for them? They were lost? In that?”

“They’re fine,” Trisha said firmly, “They don’t need any lectures from you.”

Pinako snorted and looked doubtful at that, but didn’t argue. Trisha would count it as a win, hopefully.

“What I don’t understand,” Trisha said as she stood up, shedding her coat, “is why they tried to get here in the first place. I know they’re always excited to see Winry, but they’re usually smarter than this.”

“Hah, well, you best get in there, girly,” Pinako was grinning now, her eyes dancing, “it wasn’t for Winry they were so excited.”

Trisha shook her head at that, smiling slightly, and almost called out to Urey that his mother was threatening her again. His and Sara’s absence, as it had since they left for Ishval, stung. Swallowing pass that ache, Trisha obediently opened the door and headed for the children.

Edward and Alphonse were whispering together, huddled over something, while Winry giggled in the background. Oh dear. Trisha knew what her boys looked like when they were scheming. Hopefully it wouldn't be too horrifying, whatever it was. She just had to remember to smile and applaud them anyway, whatever it was.

“Happy Yule, Winry,” she called over to the little girl. Her boys jumped and Winry giggled again.

“Happy Yule, Aunt Trisha!” she called back.

There was a minor scuffle between the two boys and then they turned around, faces shining with excitement, something hidden behind their backs. Oh dear. Trisha bit her lip to keep from laughing.

“What do you have there, you two?” she asked. The pair exchanged bright grins.

Edward piped up, “A Yule gift! For you!”

“Oh! For me?” she just hoped her smiles were believable. Alphonse especially was getting scarily good at seeing when she was exaggerating something for their benefit.

Two blond heads bobbed in unison.

“Sit down!” Alphonse insisted. Trisha found a chair and sat.

The two of them shuffled over to her, clearly trying to keep their present hidden by their backs and, apparently, _both_ carry it. Trisha had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from giggling along with Winry. A bout of hurried whispering between them, and then Alphonse announced again, very solemnly, “Mom, close your eyes!”

She closed her eyes. A bit of scuffling, a hissed ‘ _Bruvver_!’, and then Edward said loudly, “Okay, look now!”

Trisha opened her eyes. There before her, held carefully in four little hands, was a gleaming metal statue maybe 20 centimeters high, of an Ampharos and a Yamper. The grey iron gleamed in the firelight. Trisha gasped.

“Oh! Oh, boys is this…” she held out her hands and the statue was eagerly thrust into them. It was lighter than she had expected, which meant it was probably hollow, and as she turned it over in her hands, she saw no tool marks, no screws or bolts, just one solid piece of metal. And the detail! The detail was amazing, from Yamper’s hollowed out ears to the faint grooves marking Ampharos’ striping.

“You _made_ this,” she breathed. With alchemy. They had made this with _alchemy_. She’d had no idea they’d gotten so good.

Grinning widely, both of them nodded. “With alchemy!” Alphonse said, “Together!”

“ _Wow_ ,” Trisha breathed, and she didn’t need to exaggerate a single bit for them, not this time. “Wow, boys, this is… it’s amazing! Thank you, very much! Here--”

Carefully, she set the statue aside and held out her arms. 

“Come give me a proper hug,” she said, and she didn’t need to ask twice, before her arms were full with two grinning, babbling boys, going on and on about circles and symbols and scrap iron. Yes, Yule that year had had a rough start, but in the end, it all turned out very nice indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **  
> _Pokedex #460:_  
>  **  
>  _Abomasnow, the Frost Tree Pokémon. It blankets wide areas in snow by whipping up blizzards. It is also known as "The Ice Monster."_


End file.
